economy

Click the play button above and listen to this segment from WLRN's hour-long episode, "The Sunshine Economy: Public Debt," with host Tom Hudson. The episode is part of an ongoing series examining key industries of the South Florida economy. Shows air Mondays at 9:00 a.m. on 91.3 FM.

The federal government may be partially shut down and flirting with an unprecedented debt default but the Broward County Aviation Department had no trouble borrowing $450 million this month.

Miami hopes to lure hedge funds out of New York with an updated twist on a familiar message: Come south for warm winters, zero state or city income tax and -- finally -- a downtown worthy of Wall Street’s elite.

“It’s really showing the maturity of our city,’’ said Nitin Motwani, a Miami developer and board member of the Downtown Development Authority. “The more people get familiar with what is happening in Miami — the real Miami — the more people are going to say, ‘I’m going to give Miami a shot.”

Click the play button above and listen to this segment from WLRN's hour-long episode, "The Sunshine Economy: Public Sector Employment," with host Tom Hudson. The episode is part of an ongoing series examining key industries of the South Florida economy. Shows air Mondays at 9:00 a.m. on 91.3 FM.

Animals and transportation. Those are two areas Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry says residents would like to expand county services. And while the county has seen its finances improve as the housing market has recovered somewhat, the county is not looking to expand its workforce.

Click the play button above and listen to this segment from WLRN's hour-long episode, "The Sunshine Economy: Public Sector Employment," with host Tom Hudson. The episode is part of an ongoing series examining key industries of the South Florida economy. Shows air Mondays at 9:00 a.m. on 91.3 FM.

Paul Krugman is a lightning rod for economic criticism. He's used to it. For several years Krugman has argued in his New York Times columns for more government stimulus spending, not less.

Click the play button above and listen to this segment from WLRN's hour-long episode, "The Sunshine Economy: Public Sector Employment," with host Tom Hudson. The episode is part of an ongoing series examining key industries of the South Florida economy. Shows air Mondays at 9:00 a.m. on 91.3 FM.

Mayor Carlos Gimenez started his career as a government employee in 1975. He's still one today, but with a very different perspective. From a firefighter to mayor of Miami-Dade County, he now leads over 25,000 full-time public sector employees.

A massive expansion of gambling throughout Florida could boost state coffers by $1 billion a year instead of a $22 million loss previously estimated, authors of a gaming study told a Senate committee on Monday.

Since 2008, Nobel Prize-winning economist and Princeton University professor Paul Krugman has been a loud and consistent voice calling for more government stimulus to help the American economy recover from the Great Recession, induced to a large extent by the financial implosion on Wall Street.

Click the play button above to hear the radio segment from, The Sunshine Economy: Jobs, on September 9 with host Tom Hudson. The show airs every Monday at 9 a.m. on WLRN 91.3 FM.

One cost of the federal government slowdown is a delay in the monthly checkup on the nation's job market. The September unemployment report was due out Friday morning, but U.S. statisticians are among those on leave until there is an agreement on funding the government.

Click the play button above and listen to WLRN's hour-long special, "The Sunshine Economy: Public Sector Employment," with host Tom Hudson. The episode is part of an ongoing series examining key industries of the South Florida economy. Shows air Mondays at 9:00 a.m. on 91.3 FM.

Like a lot of law enforcement agencies in South Florida, the Lauderhill Police Department run by Lauderhill Police Chief Andrew Smalling did not hire any new officers for several years as the city's budget was hit by falling property values. But now Lauderhill is hiring again. It's looking for five new officers, offering full benefits and a starting salary around $50,000.

The work that Shaun O'Connell does is required by law, yet now he's sidelined by the government shutdown.

O'Connell reviews disability claims for the Social Security Administration in New York, checking that no one's gaming the system, while ensuring people with legitimate medical problems are compensated properly.

Billions of dollars are at stake with this kind of work, yet O'Connell is considered a nonessential employee for purposes of the partial government shutdown.

Now that “Burn Notice” has wrapped up seven successful seasons, will a new show step in to send the world a postcard of Miami every week?

The USA Network production ended its run recently while ratings were still strong. Thanks to a worldwide audience, it’s likely to live for years in syndication.

But the end of the show, as well as A&E’s The Glades and Starz’ Magic City this summer, leaves a void in Miami’s economy. A lot of folks made money off these productions selling props, renting cars, catering food, cleaning costumes and working on-camera.

Florida is among the top 10 states with the largest share of its population relying on food stamps. Nearly 20 percent of the state requires assistance. However, with federal cuts to the program likely, many could find it even more difficult in South Florida, where the cost of food is above the national average.

Just over a year ago, Miranda Childe was an assistant professor in English at Miami-Dade College. But due in part to funding cuts at state colleges, she suddenly found herself out of work.